On June 8, 2011, the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev announced the need for a specialized food security entity within the OIC at the 7th session of the World Islamic Economic Forum in Astana.
On June 8, 2011, the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev announced the need for a specialized food security entity within the OIC at the 7th session of the World Islamic Economic Forum in Astana. At the 38th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC, he mentioned it again and suggested locating the headquarters in Kazakhstan, a food-producing and exporting state.
This idea was very timely, considering the relevance of food insecurity and hunger in many Islamic countries. In his address to the participants of the Inaugural General Assembly of IOFS in Astana (April 2016), the Leader of the Nation noted that the Muslim world must not stay aside from the agricultural development and global efforts to eradicate hunger.
At the high-level forum on “Sustainable Development under the UN General Assembly” in 2019, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pointed out the importance of the goals of the Islamic Organization for Food Security, which are aimed at solving the problems of desertification, deforestation, erosion, salinization, and social insecurity. He expressed hope that all 57 OIC member states will join this initiative in near future.
In September 2020, on the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev noted the role of the IOFS in humanitarian aid: «The next 10 years are critical for our generation. The fundamental goal – the complete eradication of hunger across the globe must be achieved unconditionally. In this regard, we note the importance of convening the Food Systems Summit in 2021. The Islamic Organization for Food Security is willing to provide comprehensive support for the development of food reserves and implementation of a large-scale international humanitarian campaign».
On December 9-11, 2013, during the 40th session of CFM in Conakry, Guinea, 19 OIC member countries signed the IOFS Statute, and thus became the official members of IOFS.
The Inaugural session of the IOFS General Assembly was held in conjunction with the 7th Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development on April 26-28, 2016 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The hosting country was elected a Chair of the IOFS General Assembly, Côte d’Ivoire and Palestine – as Vice-Chairs.
The Second General Assembly took place on August 27-29, 2019 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was elected as a Chair of the General Assembly, Tajikistan and Gambia as Vice-Chairs, and Kazakhstan as Rapporteur.
The Third General Assembly was held online on December 2-3, 2020 in Ankara, Turkey
Turkey. All 16 strategic programmes of IOFS were approved by the member states. Tunisia officially announced its intention to join IOFS in nearest future.
The Fourth General Assembly is scheduled to take place in 2021 in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan.
The activities of the IOFS are financed by mandatory and voluntary contributions, donations, funds for specific projects, as well as revenues from publications and services.
The first three years (2017-2019) of the IOFS Secretariat activities were funded by the voluntary contributions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In 2020, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, and UAE transferred the mandatory contributions and Saudi Arabia submitted the voluntary contributions.
Member states | Entry date | ||
---|---|---|---|
1 | Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | 2013 | |
2 | People’s Republic of Bangladesh | 2016 | |
3 | Republic of Benin | 2015 | |
4 | Burkina Faso | 2013 | |
5 | Republic of Cameroon | 2015 | |
6 | Cote d'Ivoire | 2016 | |
7 | Republic of Djibouti | 2013 | |
8 | Arab Republic of Egypt | 2016 | |
9 | Republic of Chad | 2022 | |
10 | Union of the Comoros | 2013 | |
11 | Islamic Republic of Pakistan | 2013 | |
12 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 2013 | |
13 | Republic of Guinea | 2013 | |
14 | Republic of Guinea-Bissau | 2013 | |
15 | Republic of Sierra Leone | 2013 | |
16 | Republic of The Gambia | 2013 | |
17 | Republic of Kazakhstan | 2013 | |
18 | Republic of Niger | 2013 | |
19 | State of Libya | 2014 | |
20 | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | 2016 | |
21 | State of Kuwait | 2016 | |
22 | State of Qatar | 2016 | |
23 | Federal Republic of Nigeria | 2019 | |
24 | Republic of Mali | 2013 | |
25 | Islamic Republic of Mauritania | 2013 | |
26 | Republic of Mozambique | 2016 | |
27 | Kingdom of Morocco | 2021 | |
28 | State of Palestine | 2013 | |
29 | Republic of Senegal | 2017 | |
30 | Republic of Sudan | 2013 | |
31 | Republic of Suriname | 2013 | |
32 | Federal Republic of Somalia | 2013 | |
33 | Republic of Tajikistan | 2016 | |
34 | Republic of Tunisia | 2021 | |
35 | Republic of Türkiye | 2013 | |
36 | Republic of Uganda | 2013 | |
37 | United Arab Emirates | 2015 |